KEY POINTS:
The 15 towns that will compete in the remake of the 1970s and '80s television show Top Town have been announced.
The popular show is to return to TV2 with teams of six men and six women competing over a range of obstacles and races for the title of New Zealand's top town.
The towns that will compete were selected from more than 35 applicants and were determined by the quality of their applications and the geographical spread around the country.
The towns are Whangarei, Papakura, Whakatane, Otorohanga, Taupo, Gisborne, Masterton, Motueka, Greymouth, Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, Queenstown and Gore. Christchurch was selected to host the programme.
TVNZ's head of television, Jeff Latch, said there was a lot of excitement about bringing back the old show.
"We have been asked for years to bring back Top Town and we think that now is a great time to modernise the show," Mr Latch said.
"This is not a retro remake of the old format. This time it's more water and mud challenges than stubbies and marching girls but we anticipate just as much entertainment and of course town pride and rivalry."
Filming begins next month.
- NZPA
